Lily's Quilts QAL - almost there (updated)

After some thought I decided this:

kind of quilting for the "blank" blocks would be a bit too much. So this one will stay as a central block, but for the rest I came up with this instead:

Here they are (both dresdens and blanks) waiting to be sewn into rows:

Update:

Sewn, but the backing layers still need to be handstitched.
I'm thinking about adding a border, as it's only about 45"x75" (114cm x 190cm). The weird red light comes from the backing which is mostly red.

the secret revealed

A bit of confession first:
There was this yummy charm pack of sunkissed I couldn't decide what to use for.

On the one hand, I love the fabrics. I wanted them the instant I saw them, and when I got them I would bring them out from time to time just to look at them. (Yes, I realize how silly it sounds).
On the other hand, the bright, bold colours (especially the pink) are way outside my comfort zone. I was afraid of using them in something I was unsure of and ending up with something I would not like so much.
And then:
I saw some lovely pouches and purses in the Pretty {little} Pouch Swap, and found this great tutorial .
And that was it. Here is the result:

(This tutorial helped me with the pocket.

Oh, and it looked like the Birthday Girl liked it :)

summer for birthday

Can you believe that I've just sewn my first zipper?
Just a sneak peek of what I've been working on, as I have to deliver the finished gift to the birthday girl.

summer sewing - one down

Number 2 from my summer sewing list is completed:

Sewing the wallets has been fun, but I've had lots of trouble with topstitching around the edges (the machine "eating" the fabric, "birds nests" forming). I'd be grateful for any tips on how to avoid these problems.

something old, something new

Well, maybe not that old, but my dresdens are certainly not so new anymore.
All six of them are quilted now, sort of following the seams around the dresden blades and with some more random quilted "blades" in the corners:

Now I have to cut and quilt 9 additional blocks, as I want the quilt to be approximately twin size and my dresden blocks are just 16"x16".
Here's the first of the "blanks", on the stack of quilted dresdens (in black and white for a change):

I'm using polyester batting now but I must admit that after trying out cotton batting in the hexagon quilt I find the effect a bit too puffy.

And as for something new, I wanted something I could sew by hand, and after discovering this tutorial I started this:

I'm not sure whether it will end up as a scarf or blocks in a scrappy quilt, but I'm enjoying making it.

so, what's next?

Let me make a list:
1. Finish the Lily's Quilts QAL quilt

I finally have some nice red fabric to back it with. Now, since my dresdens are much smaller than the original ones, I'm planning to piece some more blocks to make it at least into a lap quilt. I'm thinking about using the background fabric with a colourful, pieced string placed randomly in each block.

2. Make some more of these for gifts:

3. Make 2 pillows with the hexie pieces from Lynz

4. Back, quilt and bind the first quilt top I pieced last December and then put aside for times I would be more confident with quilting (and for the decision what to back it with).

5. Finish designing a quilt for these beauties:

and at least start the cutting.

6. I also have some plans which would involve combining quilting with my now somewhat neglected drawing, but I don't have any details for you yet.

I'm not sure summer will be enough to complete all these, but I'm going try at least, so I'm linking this to:

And speaking about summer, what's happened to our beautiful late spring?

(and a big hug for all those who didn't fall asleep reading such a long post :))

blowing in the wind

... just don't tell my neighbours I've used their clothesline to snatch some photos.
(it's just outside the building, not in anybody's yard, so I suppose I may be forgiven ;))

The quilting went slowly as I decided I wanted some patterns inside the hexagons, as well as stitch in the ditch (or, in my case, stitch-in-and-out-of-the-ditch)
Here's the back:

And I'm not sure if you can see it very well in the photos, but I like how the sligthly scrappy binding turned out.

I enjoyed working on it very much, so I'm adding it to: